1985 Buffalo Bills season

The 1985 Buffalo Bills season was the franchise's 16th season in the National Football League, and the 26th overall. It was Buffalo's second-consecutive 2–14 season. Head coach Kay Stephenson was fired after an 0–4 start. Defensive coordinator Hank Bullough took over, going 2–10 for the remainder of the season. For the second consecutive season, the Bills went winless on the road.

1985 Buffalo Bills season
Owner	Ralph Wilson
General manager	Terry Bledsoe
Head coach	Kay Stephenson (weeks 1-4) Hank Bullough (weeks 5-16)
Home stadium	Rich Stadium
Results
Record	2–14
Division place	5th AFC East
Playoffs	Did not qualify
Pro Bowlers	None
← 1984 Bills seasons 1986 →

Season summary

The Bills' offense was anemic; its 200 points scored is the lowest total in the 1980s,^{[note 1]} and the lowest total in team history for a sixteen-game schedule. Having concluded that longtime starting quarterback Joe Ferguson's career was over after a spike in interceptions in the early 1980s, the Bills cut him in the offseason. (The assumption would be in error, as Ferguson would sign with the Detroit Lions and play an additional six seasons in the NFL after being released.) Ferguson's replacements, quarterbacks Vince Ferragamo and Bruce Mathison, only produced 9 passing touchdowns all season,^[1] while combining for a league-high 31 interceptions.^[2] Buffalo scored fewer than ten points in seven of its sixteen games. The team’s point-differential of negative-181 is the third-worst in franchise history.

Offseason

NFL draft

Main article: 1985 NFL draft

In 1985, the Bills used the first overall pick in the draft to select All-American defensive end Bruce Smith. Smith would end up going on to dominate throughout the late 1980s and early 1990s. Smith was an 11-time All-Pro selection, two-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year, and logged an NFL-record 200 sacks^{[note 2]} by the end of his career.

Fourth-round pick Andre Reed, a wide receiver out of Kutztown (PA) State, would go on to be the leading receiver in Buffalo Bills history. When he retired after the 2000 season, Reed's 951 career receptions were third in NFL history behind Jerry Rice and Cris Carter.^[3]

Maryland quarterback Frank Reich would become famous for quarterbacking “The Comeback”, a 1993 playoff game in which Buffalo, down 35–3 in the third quarter, would score 35 unanswered points to win 41–38 in overtime. It is the largest deficit overcome to win a game in NFL history.^{[note 3]}

Reed played more games with the Bills, 221, than any other player. Smith was second with 217 games.^[4]

1985 Buffalo Bills draft
Round	Pick	Player	Position	College	Notes
1	1	Bruce Smith * †	Defensive end	Virginia Tech
1	14	Derrick Burroughs	Defensive back	Memphis
2	29	Mark Traynowicz	Guard	Nebraska
2	42	Chris Burkett	Wide receiver	Jackson State
3	57	Frank Reich	Quarterback	Maryland
3	63	Hal Garner	Linebacker	Utah State
4	86	Andre Reed * †	Wide receiver	Kutztown State
4	112	Dale Hellestrae	Offensive tackle	Southern Methodist
5	130	Jimmy Teal	Wide receiver	Texas A&M
6	141	Mike Hamby	Defensive end	Utah State
7	169	Ron Pitts	Defensive back	UCLA
8	197	Jacque Robinson	Fullback	Washington
9	225	Glenn Jones	Defensive back	Norfolk State
10	253	Chris Babyar	Guard	Illinois
11	282	James Seawright	Linebacker	South Carolina
12	333	Paul Woodside	Placekicker	West Virginia
Made roster    †   Pro Football Hall of Fame    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

^[5]

Personnel

Staff

1985 Buffalo Bills staff

	Front office President – Ralph Wilson Senior Executive Vice President – Pat McGroder Vice President of Administration/General Manager – Terry Bledsoe Vice President of Football Operations – Kay Stephenson Vice President of Player Personnel – Norm Pollom Director of Pro Personnel – Bill Polian Assistant Director of Player Personnel – Bob Ferguson Head coaches Head Coach – Kay Stephenson Assistant Head Coach/Defensive Coordinator – Hank Bullough Offensive coaches Offensive Coordinator/Offensive Line – Jim Ringo Quarterbacks – Kay Dalton Running Backs / Special Teams coach – Elijah Pitts Receivers – Bob Leahy Tight Ends – Art Asselta			Defensive coaches Defensive Line – Ardell Wiegandt Linebackers – Monte Kiffin Defensive Backfield – Dick Moseley Strength and conditioning Strength and Conditioning Coordinator – Rusty Jones

^[6]

Roster

1985 Buffalo Bills roster

Quarterbacks (QB) 5 Vince Ferragamo  7 Bruce Mathison 14 Frank Reich Running backs (RB) 28 Greg Bell 20 Joe Cribbs 34 Booker Moore 47 Anthony Steels Wide receivers (WR) 85 Chris Burkett 80 Jerry Butler 83 Andre Reed 82 Eric Richardson 86 Jimmy Teal Tight ends (TE) 88 Pete Metzelaars 87 Eason Ramson

Offensive linemen (OL) 69 Greg Christy T 63 Justin Cross T 70 Joe Devlin T 53 Will Grant C 72 Ken Jones T 51 Jim Ritcher G 62 Mark Traynowicz G 65 Tim Vogler G Defensive linemen (DL) 95 Sean McNanie DE 79 Dean Prater DE 76 Fred Smerlas NT 78 Bruce Smith DE 74 Don Smith DE 77 Ben Williams DE

Linebackers (LB) 58 Anthony Dickerson OLB 52 Guy Frazier OLB 55 Jim Haslett ILB 90 Steve Maidlow ILB 54 Eugene Marve ILB 57 Lucius Sanford OLB 56 Darryl Talley OLB 50 Eric Wilson ILB Defensive backs (DB) 36 Rodney Bellinger CB 29 Derrick Burroughs CB 22 Steve Freeman SS 25 Rod Hill CB 48 Lawrence Johnson CB 23 Jim Perryman SS 26 Charles Romes CB 21 Don Wilson FS Special teams (ST)  4 John Kidd P 11 Scott Norwood K

Reserve 43 Martin Bayless S (IR) 81 Mitchell Brookins WR (IR) 59 Stan David LB (IR) 68 Joe DeLamielleure G (ret.) 99 Hal Garner LB (IR) 75 Mike Hamby DE (IR) 71 Dale Hellestrae T (IR) 30 Anthony Hutchison RB (IR) 27 Ron Pitts CB (IR) 40 Robb Riddick RB (IR) -- James Seawright LB (IR) Rookies in italics

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance
1	September 8	San Diego Chargers	L 9–14	0–1	Rich Stadium	67,597
2	September 15	at New York Jets	L 3–42	0–2	Giants Stadium	63,449
3	September 22	New England Patriots	L 14–17	0–3	Rich Stadium	40,334
4	September 29	Minnesota Vikings	L 20–27	0–4	Rich Stadium	45,667
5	October 6	at Indianapolis Colts	L 17–49	0–5	Hoosier Dome	60,003
6	October 13	at New England Patriots	L 3–14	0–6	Sullivan Stadium	40,462
7	October 20	Indianapolis Colts	W 21–9	1–6	Rich Stadium	28,430
8	October 27	at Philadelphia Eagles	L 17–21	1–7	Veterans Stadium	60,987
9	November 3	Cincinnati Bengals	L 17–23	1–8	Rich Stadium	25,640
10	November 10	Houston Oilers	W 20–0	2–8	Rich Stadium	21,881
11	November 17	at Cleveland Browns	L 7–17	2–9	Cleveland Municipal Stadium	54,478
12	November 24	Miami Dolphins	L 14–23	2–10	Rich Stadium	50,474
13	December 1	at San Diego Chargers	L 7–40	2–11	Jack Murphy Stadium	45,487
14	December 8	New York Jets	L 7–27	2–12	Rich Stadium	23,122
15	December 15	at Pittsburgh Steelers	L 24–30	2–13	Three Rivers Stadium	35,953
16	December 22	at Miami Dolphins	L 0–28	2–14	Miami Orange Bowl	64,811

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

Week 1

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
• Chargers	7	7	0	0	14
Bills	3	6	0	0	9

• Date: September 8
• Location: Rich Stadium Orchard Park, NY
• Game start: 4:00 p.m. EST
• Game attendance: 67,597
• Game weather: 76 °F (24.4 °C); wind 11 miles per hour (18 km/h; 9.6 kn)
• Referee: Dick Jorgensen
• TV announcers (NBC): Phil Stone and Reggie Rucker

^[7]

Week 3

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
• Patriots	3	7	7	0	17
Bills	0	7	0	7	14

• Date: September 22
• Location: Rich Stadium • Orchard Park, New York
• Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST
• Game weather: 65 °F (18 °C) • Wind 7 mph (11 km/h)
• Referee: Jerry Seeman
• Television network: NBC

Scoring summary

1		NE	Tony Franklin 32-yard field goal	Patriots 3–0
2		BUF	Greg Bell 16-yard pass from Vince Ferragamo (Scott Norwood kick)	Bills 7–3
2		NE	Tony Collins 5-yard pass from Craig James (Tony Franklin kick)	Patriots 10–7
3		NE	Irving Fryar 85-yard punt return (Tony Franklin kick)	Patriots 17–7
4		BUF	Andre Reed 18-yard pass from Vince Ferragamo (Scott Norwood kick)	Patriots 17–14

^[8]

Week 6

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
Bills	0	3	0	0	3
• Patriots	0	0	7	7	14

• Date: October 13
• Location: Sullivan Stadium • Foxboro, Massachusetts
• Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST
• Game weather: 50 °F (10 °C) • Wind 12 mph (19 km/h)
• Referee: Gene Barth
• TV announcers (NBC): Len Berman and Reggie Rucker

Scoring summary

2		BUF	Scott Norwood 47-yard field goal	Bills 3–0
3		NE	Irving Fryar 16-yard pass from Steve Grogan (Tony Franklin kick)	Patriots 7–3
4		NE	Raymond Clayborn 27-yard interception return (Tony Franklin kick)	Patriots 14–3

^[9]

Week 7

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
Colts	3	3	3	0	9
• Bills	7	7	0	7	21

• Date: October 20
• Location: Rich Stadium
• Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST
• Game attendance: 28,430
• Game weather: 47 °F (8.3 °C); wind 8 miles per hour (13 km/h; 7.0 kn)
• Referee: Fred Wyant

Scoring summary

Q1		BUF	Bell 7 yard run (Norwood kick)	BUF 7–0
Q1		IND	Allegre 41 yard field goal	BUF 7–3
Q2		IND	Allegre 27 yard field goal	BUF 7–6
Q2		BUF	Bell 1 yard run (Norwood kick)	BUF 14–6
Q3		IND	Allegre 38 yard field goal	BUF 14–9
Q4		BUF	Metzelaars 3 yard pass from Ferragamo (Norwood kick)	BUF 21–9

^[10]

Week 8

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
Bills	7	3	7	0	17
• Eagles	0	0	0	21	21

• Date: October 27
• Location: Veterans Stadium
• Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST
• Game attendance: 60.987
• Game weather: 66 °F (18.9 °C); wind 17 miles per hour (27 km/h; 15 kn)
• Referee: Ben Dreith
• TV announcers (NBC): Tom Hammond and Dave Rowe

Scoring summary

Q1		BUF	Reed 14 yard run (Norwood kick)	BUF 7–0
Q2		BUF	Norwood 26 yard field goal	BUF 10–0
Q3		BUF	Reed 7 yard pass from Ferragamo (Norwood kick)	BUF 17-0
Q4		PHI	Jaworski 3 yard run (McFadden kick)	BUF 17–7
Q4		PHI	Hopkins 24 yard interception return (McFadden kick)	BUF 17–14
Q4		PHI	Quick 32 yard pass from Jaworski (McFadden kick)	PHI 21–17

^[11]

Week 10

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
Oilers	0	0	0	0	0
• Bills	10	0	10	0	20

• Date: November 10
• Location: Rich Stadium, Orchard Park, New York
• Game start: 1:00 p.m.
• Game weather: 45 °F (7.2 °C), wind 14 miles per hour (23 km/h; 12 kn)
• Referee: Bob Frederic

Scoring summary

1		BUF	Scott Norwood 24 yard field goal	Bills 3–0
1		BUF	Greg Bell 2 yard run (Scott Norwood kick)	Bills 10–0
3		BUF	Scott Norwood 23 yard field goal	Bills 13–0
3		BUF	Bruce Mathison 5 yard run (Scott Norwood kick)	Bills 20–0

^[12]

Week 16

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
Bills	0	0	0	0	0
• Dolphins	7	7	0	14	28

• Date: December 22
• Location: Orange Bowl, Miami, Florida
• Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST
• Game attendance: 64,811
• Game weather: 70 °F (21.1 °C); wind 12 miles per hour (19 km/h; 10 kn)
• Referee: Gene Barth
• TV announcers (NFL on NBC): Jay Randolph and Bob Griese

^[13]

Standings

AFC East
view talk edit	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Miami Dolphins(2)	12	4	0	.750	6–2	9–3	428	320	W7
New York Jets(4)	11	5	0	.688	6–2	9–3	393	264	W1
New England Patriots(5)	11	5	0	.688	6–2	8–4	362	290	W1
Indianapolis Colts	5	11	0	.313	1–7	2–10	320	386	W2
Buffalo Bills	2	14	0	.125	1–7	2–12	200	381	L6

Notes

1. This excludes the strike-shortened, nine-regular-season-game 1982 season
2. As of 2020^[update]
3. As of 2017